Kent Hrbek, Twins First Baseman July 5, 1982

Mr. Hrbek goes to Washington this week. All eyes will be on himas he strolls through the Capitol Rotunda, working the crowdwith a firm handshake and warm smile. Is former Twins All-Starfirst baseman Kent Hrbek, who's so popular in Minnesota thatJesse Ventura asked him to run for lieutenant governor, testingthe political waters? "Come on, I got no time for politics,"says Hrbek, who would rather be fishing for walleyes than forvotes.

Since retiring from baseball in 1994, Hrbek has turned much ofhis attention to raising money to help find a cure foramyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as LouGehrig's disease, and his efforts are the reason he has beensummoned to Washington. He will receive the annual All-StarAward from the ALS Association for his outstanding contributionto fighting the disease. ALS claimed Kent's father, Ed, near theend of Kent's storybook 1982 rookie season, in which he hit .301with 23 homers and 92 RBIs and seemed to get stronger as hisfather's condition deteriorated. Hrbek's performance, along withthose of fellow rookies Tom Brunansky, Gary Gaetti and FrankViola, brought hope to a small-market franchise struggling--astoday's Twins still are--to compete with big-market teams. Twoyears later Kirby Puckett arrived, and within a decade Minnesotahad won two World Series titles, in '87 and '91.

Ed taught his son to play baseball, and, in turn, Kent has usedhis baseball fame in his efforts to fight ALS. In 1985 the KentHrbek Celebrity Golf Tournament for ALS was born, and to datethe annual one-day tournament, dinner and auction has raisedalmost a million dollars. "My rookie year was a high point andlow point for me, but the whole thing has now come full circle,"says Hrbek.

In Kent's playing days his wife, Jeanie--mother ofseven-year-old Heidi--handled most of the event planning, butsince his retirement Kent has taken the lead and attractedcorporate sponsors who have sent tournament proceedsskyrocketing. He often finds himself in the boardrooms ofcompanies like Anheuser-Busch and Target, successfully spinninghis sales pitch. "After I sign a couple of autographs, thatusually puts me over the top," he says. The rest of his time isspent hunting, fishing or calling local businesses to solicitdonations for the tournament auction. "When we get a cure forthis thing, I'm going to rent out the Metrodome for a party,"says Hrbek, "and everyone's invited."

--John O'Keefe

COLOR PHOTO: RONALD C. MODRA COLOR PHOTO: STEVE WEWERKA

Hrbek, whose father died of Lou Gehrig's disease, is now focusedon helping doctors find a cure.